CHAPTER XXII--(_continued_).

CELTIC ART IN THE WESTERN MONASTERIES DURING THE REIGN OF TURLOUGH O'CONOR.

"He stepped a man out of the ways of men, And no one knew his sept, or rank, or name-- Like a strong stream issuing from a glen, From some source unexplored, the Master came." --_M'Gee's 'Gobban Saer.'_

We have said that Turlough Mor O'Conor was, if not the Augustus of Western Europe, certainly the Augustus of the West of Ireland. During his long reign of fifty years Celtic art reached its highest degree of perfection, at least in three great branches--architecture, sculpture, and metal work. He was inaugurated as king of the Siol Muireadhaigh in the year A.D. 1106; and he went to his rest, beside the altar of Ciaran in Clonmacnoise in A.D. 1156, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. With his own right hand he fought his way through more than fifty battles to the kingship of all Erin--an honour to which no prince of his line had ever before attained since the time of Niall the Great. He had a clear head, too, as well as a strong arm; and thoroughly appreciated the force of the royal maxim--_divide et impera_. Neither did he neglect, so far as he could, the arts of peace. He made many roads and causeways through woods and morasses that were hitherto impenetrable; he built bridges over the Shannon and Suck, and fortified them with strong castles. He caused money to be regularly coined at Clonmacnoise for the convenience of commercial transactions. He had a great fleet of boats on the Shannon for trading, as well as for warlike purposes. He founded a chair of divinity in the great School of Armagh, to which we have already referred. He erected a hospital at Tuam for the aged and infirm, and was most munificent in rebuilding and adorning the churches of his own hereditary dominions with all those beautiful monuments of Celtic art to which we now propose to direct special attention.

I.--THE O'DUFFYS.

Augustus always finds a Maecenas; and it was doubtless owing to the powerful patronage of Turlough that in all his cathedral cities members of a great and talented ecclesiastical family held the crozier, to whom quite as much as to himself we owe many of the most beautiful specimens of Celtic art still extant in Ireland. This was the family of the O'Duffys (Ua Dubhthaig), which flourished throughout the whole of the twelfth century, and gave bishops or abbots to Clonmacnoise, to Roscommon, to Tuam, to Clonfert, to Cong, to Mayo, and to Boyle. The O'Duffys originally belonged to the Province of Leinster, for they were sprung from the race of Cathair Mor, who divided that province amongst his twenty-four sons. But later on some members of the family settled both in Galway and Roscommon, and appear to have risen to a good position; although they are not mentioned by O'Dugan, who doubtless regarded them as more or less strangers in the West. They seem at this period to have been located in Roscommon, for the earliest reference we find to any member of the family is to Flanagan Ruadh O'Duffy, successor of St. Coman of Roscommon, and also it appears, a ferlegind, or professor, of the School of Tuam. His death is recorded in A.D. 1097. Domhnall O'Duffy, who died in A.D. 1136, is called in the _Annals of Loch Cé_, Bishop of Elphin, and comarb or successor of Ciaran in Clonmacnoise. The Four Masters call him High-bishop of Connaught,[402] because he was doubtless the most distinguished prelate of his time, for as yet there was no metropolitan See of Tuam. Domhnall's death took place in the monastery of Clonfert 'after Mass and Celebration;' and he appears to have been much regretted, for he is described as the head of the wisdom and hospitality of the entire province. He was buried on St. Patrick's Day in Clonfert; the true year seems to be A.D. 1137 (_Annals of Lough Cé_).

Muireadhach O'Duffy, who, if not a brother of Domhnall, was doubtless a member of the same family, appears to have succeeded him as High-bishop of Connaught. Reference is made to this prelate by the Four Masters the very year of Domhnall's death, and he is distinguished from the comarb of Jarlath in Tuam. He is referred to again in A.D. 1143 as one of the sureties for Rory O'Conor; but in spite of his sureties that prince was seized and imprisoned by his own father Turlough. At his death in A.D. 1150 he is described by the Four Masters as "High-bishop of Connaught, and chief senior of all Ireland in wisdom, in chastity, in the bestowal of jewels and food." He died at Cong in the new abbey which he helped to found, on the sixteenth of May, that is the festival of Brendan, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. It will be observed that these two prelates flourished during the reign of Turlough O'Conor, and no doubt cordially co-operated with that prince in his projects for the diffusion of knowledge and the development of art.

Hugh O'Hessian (Aedh Ua h-Oissen) appears to have succeeded O'Duffy as High-bishop of Connaught in A.D. 1150. He seems to have lived at Tuam, and he is correctly described as Archbishop of Tuam; for in A.D. 1152 he was one of the prelates who received the Pall from Cardinal Paparo in the Synod of Kells. He died in A.D. 1161. Mention is made of a Bishop Flanagan O'Duffy, who died in A.D. 1168; but no See is mentioned in connection with his name. He was, however, a most learned man, for he is described as "Bishop and chief Doctor of the Irish in literature, history, and poetry, and in every kind of science known to man in his time." He died 'in the bed of Bishop Muireadhach O'Duffy at Cong,' and was doubtless a near relative of that prelate. Catholicus O'Duffy is generally represented as succeeding to the See of Tuam after the death of O'Hessian in A.D. 1161. He ruled in Tuam for forty years; and was through good and ill the faithful friend and counsellor of the unhappy Rory O'Conor during all the years of his stormy and disastrous reign. He was present with five other Irish bishops at the General Council of Lateran in A.D. 1179. In A.D. 1198 he saw his discrowned monarch die in his old age amongst the canons of Cong 'after exemplary penance.' Doubtless he accompanied the king's body to Clonmacnoise, and saw it laid near the grave of his great father, Turlough, beside the altar of Ciaran. Then stricken by the weight of years and sorrows, the archbishop, too, retired to Cong, and three years later died amongst the same holy canons, victorious, like his unhappy master, 'over the world and the devil.'

The O'Duffys, therefore, were the real ministers and counsellors both of Turlough and Rory O'Conor throughout the twelfth century; and to them, as much as to those princes themselves, must be attributed the many works of art which were produced during that period. They had almost all the ecclesiastical power of the province in their own hands; for we find that besides those already mentioned, Maurice O'Duffy, who died in A.D. 1174, was abbot of the great Cistercian monastery of Boyle, and another, Kele or Catholicus O'Duffy, who died in A.D. 1209, was Bishop of Mayo of the Saxons. We find also that one of them held the See of Clonfert towards the close of the thirteenth century--William O'Duffy--whose death is marked under A.D. 1297. It will be seen, however, that this great family used their power for God's glory, and the good of the Church. Whatever they touched they adorned, as the existing monuments of their artistic taste and skill so conclusively prove.

II.--CELTIC ART AT CLONMACNOISE.

Clonmacnoise was founded by a saint, who was born and baptized at Fuerty, within three miles of the town of Roscommon. It is quite true, as we have already observed, that Clonmacnoise was more catholic in the selection of its abbots than any other great monastery in Ireland; and this was undoubtedly one of the causes which raised Clonmacnoise to its proud pre-eminence amongst the monastic schools of Erin. Still the City of Ciaran could not forget the rock from whence it was hewn; and, as our Annals tell, the men of Roscommon always occupied positions of commanding influence in Clonmacnoise. This connection will also help to explain why Domhnall O'Duffy, Bishop of Elphin, and Abbot of Roscommon, was also chosen to be comarb of Ciaran, at Clonmacnoise. This connection also gave countenance to the ambitious designs of Turlough O'Conor, who was resolved to annex the abbacy of Clonmacnoise, with all its rich termon lands, to his own hereditary dominions.[403] In the Synod of Rathbreasil, Cluain appears to be included in the diocese of Clonard,[404] and rightfully, as it was a portion of the ancient kingdom of Meath. But in the Synod of Kells (A.D. 1152), Cluain, or Clonmacnoise, is explicitly assigned as a suffragan See to Tuam. This was doubtless owing in great measure to the influence of Turlough O'Conor; and naturally enough the influence of the O'Duffys would favour the designs of the king. In A.D. 1152, however, it was O'Malone, and not an O'Duffy, who was Comarb of Ciaran; but the O'Malones themselves were a branch of the great O'Conor family, who had settled in Teffia[405] (County Longford).

Clonmacnoise, during the twelfth century especially, was the great school of Celtic Art. This statement will need no proof for anyone who even at this day wanders through the ruined City, and carefully observes its churches, its crosses, its round towers, and its sculptured tombstones. But we propose to put in more formal evidence, and to show that it was the artists of Clonmacnoise who executed many other of our choicest works, which at first sight appear to have no connection with the City of St. Ciaran.

ARCHITECTURE was certainly one of the fine arts taught in our monastic schools, and with very considerable success, as existing ruins, and especially our round towers, clearly prove. The architect, or ollamh-builder, was at the head of the profession, and had his remuneration fixed by law. Besides a kind of per-centage on the work which he superintended, he had a fixed annual salary rated at twenty-one cows, from the king-in-chief, in whose service he was engaged. But he was required to be a perfect master of his art in the widest sense of the word. He was not only required to build stone churches (damhliags) and oratories, whether of wood or stone, but also farm steadings, containing the usual five buildings, namely, dwelling-house, cow-house, calf-house, pig-sty, and sheep-fold. He was required to be a millwright, a boat-maker, a cooper, a cart-maker, and a road-maker. He should be skilful in yew carving and plough-making, and was even expected to weave wicker shields and build wicker houses. He was, in fact, a jack-of-all-trades, and must have well earned his salary of twenty-one cows in the year.

The most distinguished of this fraternity was the renowned Gobban Saer, or Gobban the builder, whose fame is still traditionally preserved in various parts of the country. He was, undoubtedly, a historical personage, and seems to have flourished during the first half of the sixth century. His father is said to have been Turvey (Tuirbhi), who gave his name to the strand of Turvey, on the northern coast of the County Dublin--Kilgobbin, in the same county, is said to derive its name from the renowned builder himself. At this early date the Gaels knew little of church building, and hence the services of the Gobban were in great request with the saints for building their churches and oratories. As he had no rivals he could make his own terms, and is said to have charged exorbitant prices, and, moreover, being feeble, took his own time at his work. He agreed to build a wooden oratory for St. Moling of Carlow, but he spent a whole year in idleness before he began, and when he had finished his task, at the instigation of his wife, he asked from the saint the full of the oratory of rye as his wages. The saint had agreed to give him his own demand, but not having nearly this quantity of rye, he was forced to appeal to his tribesmen to help him. "Bring me," he said, "whatever you have--corn, nuts, apples, even green rushes." They did so, and filled the oratory, which the Gobban turned upside down to receive the offerings without starting a plank. It was all changed into rye at the prayer of the saint, but next morning, when the Gobban came to take away the grain, he found that it had turned into maggots!

We also find this famous architect mentioned in the _Life of St. Abban_, for whom he built a church. It was, says this Life, his constant occupation to work for the saints wherever he was, but he charged them so dear that he lost his sight through the displeasure of the saints at the greatness of his charges. The Gobban was probably of foreign descent, and tried to make the Scots pay well for their buildings.

It is certain that Clonmacnoise reached a high degree of perfection in architecture, and the Nuns' Church, _Relig na Cailleach_, was certainly one of the most beautiful types of the Celtic Romanesque in Ireland. It was situated to the north-east of the monastic buildings, and was approached by a causeway that was built along the river, which frequently overflowed the surrounding meadows.

This church was erected at the expense of the celebrated Dervorgilla, wife of Tiernan O'Rorke, King of North Connaught. It appears to have been completed in A.D. 1167, and probably occupied the site of an older church belonging to the nuns of Clonmacnoise, for, as we have seen, we find reference made to the garden of the abbess so early as A.D. 1026, when the causeway was constructed from her garden to the Three Crosses, near the great Church of Clonmacnoise. A.D. 1082, we are told that the "cemetery of the nuns of Clonmacnoise was burned with its stone church, and with the eastern third of the entire establishment." The cemetery here means the enclosure surrounded by the cashel, portions of which still remain; it contained not only the church, but also the cells in which the nuns dwelt, and the other buildings necessary for their accommodation. The causeway, too, can still be traced from the nunnery to the Carn of the Three Crosses, which was surmounted by a stone bearing the following Irish inscription:--

OROIT AR THURCAIN LASAN DERNAD IN CHROSSA.

(Pray for Turcan, by whom this Cross was made.)

The striking features of the Nuns' Church are the western door-way and the chancel arch. This door-way is the principal entrance to the nave, which is 36 ft. in length, and nearly 20 ft. in breadth; the walls are 3 ft. thick. The chancel, like that of Tuam, is nearly a square--14 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft. in breadth; the walls are 3 ft. 3 in. thick, and built of hard limestone, hammer-dressed.

Lord Dunraven thus describes the door-way and chancel arch:--

"The door-way at the west end is 7 ft. in height, to the springing of the arch; 2 ft. 10 in. wide at the base, and 2 ft. 8-1/2 in. at the top of the jambs. It is deeply recessed, and of four orders; the two inner jambs are rectangular shafts, the outer are rounded into pillars, with shallow bases and imposts. The external shafts had a plain chamfered abacus, and the hood moulding, or outer arch, terminates with heads of the same character as those in the small church at Rahan. The jambs were richly ornamented with incised chevrons and other designs. The outer arch was enriched with pellets, the inner with chevron blocks, incised with bold lines; the third with heads with rolls in their mouths, or with beak-head, or cat's-head moulding, deeply undercut, and the front face enriched with incised traceries and chevrons, and pellets upon the soffit of the arch. The door-way had eel-heads terminating the zig-zags, but they are not so distinct as those on M'Carthy's Church close by, where they had been covered with accumulated earth until lately.

"The chancel arch, which was of sandstone, was 9 ft. 2 in. wide at the base, and 7 ft. 6 in. in height, to the top of the impost, making the arch about 12 ft. high. It was 15 ft. 6 in. wide from one outer pier to the other." The ornamentation, mainly consisting of zig-zag and chevron, with a pear-shaped ornament in the inner order, is very striking, and "the capitals and ornaments of the piers," says Lord Dunraven, "are totally unlike anything in England, and, if taken by themselves, would appear to be of much earlier character than the arch."

This church was built, as the Four Masters tell us, by Dervorgilla in A.D. 1167. The abduction or flight of that false fair lady took place in A.D. 1152, when MacMurrough caused her to be carried to his own castle of Ferns. But next year Turlough O'Connor led an army against MacMurrough, when Dervorgilla was given up, and restored by that prince to her own friends in Meath, and shortly afterwards was taken back again by her injured husband. It is highly probable that the erring dame built the Church of the Nuns at Clonmacnoise, the foundation of her own royal ancestors, as a penance for her sins; and it may be she found grace and pardon within that holy shrine. She survived her husband several years, and died at the advanced age of 85 in the monastery of Mellifont, to which she had presented many valuable offerings during her long and eventful career.

We have already referred to the sculptured crosses in the graveyard, which are some of the finest specimens of ancient art in this country. But besides these there were numerous other objects of the highest antiquarian interest, which were produced or preserved at Clonmacnoise, to which we shall presently refer.

Under the head of SCULPTURE we include sculptured gravestones, high crosses, and architectural ornamentation in relief. Clonmacnoise exhibits in its churchyard more sculptured stones, and in greater variety, than all the rest of Ireland together. The first volume of _The Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language_, deals exclusively, and very fully, with those found at Clonmacnoise; but as we have already referred to this part of our subject, we shall pass on to give an account of the crosses and architectural ornaments in sculpture at Tuam and Cong, which belong to the artistic School of Clonmacnoise.

The first is the celebrated high Cross of Tuam, now standing in the market place. Of this Dr. Petrie remarks[406] that "it is of far greater magnificence and interest (than the Cross of Cashel); and may justly rank as the finest monument of its class and age remaining in Ireland." It is made of sandstone, and measures in its pedestal five feet three inches in breadth, and three feet eight inches in height; but including the shaft, which is ten feet long, the entire cross is thirteen feet eight inches high.

On the base, or pedestal, of this cross there are two highly interesting inscriptions in the Irish language, now partly defaced, but still decipherable. One is:--

OR DO U OSSIN; DON DABBAID LASAN DERNAD

"A prayer for O'Hossin (Hessian) for the abbot by whom it was made." On the opposite side is the following inscription:--

OR DO THOIRDELBUCH U CONCHUBUIR DON ... IARLATH LAS IN DERNAD INSAE....

That is--"A prayer for Torlough O'Conor; for the (comarb) of Jarlath by whom was made this...."

O'Hoisin, or O'Hessian, referred to in the first inscription, was, as we have said, the first regular Archbishop of Tuam. He succeeded Muireadhach O'Duffy, who died in A.D. 1150, and received the pallium from Cardinal Paparo at the Synod of Kells in A.D. 1152. It is singular, however, that he is not described on the Cross as either bishop or archbishop, but simply as abbot in the one, and as comarb of Jarlath in the other. Hence Petrie conjectures that this Cross was sculptured before O'Hessian became archbishop, and whilst he was yet merely abbot of the monastery of Tuam. There is evidence that he was abbot so early as A.D. 1134, for, according to the _Annals of Innisfallen_, he was sent on an embassy in that year by King Turlough, to make peace between Connaught and Munster. Therefore Petrie thinks it probable that he became abbot in A.D. 1128, on the death of Muirges O'Nioc, who filled that office before him; and he held the abbacy during the entire period of O'Duffy's rule as High-bishop of Connaught. We have already seen that Muireadhach succeeded Domhnall O'Duffy in A.D. 1136 or 1137, and ruled over Elphin, Roscommon, Clonmacnoise, and probably Tuam also until A.D. 1150. It appears to be quite clear, therefore, that this beautiful Cross of Tuam was made whilst O'Duffy was High-bishop, and O'Hessian abbot of Tuam. The prayer for Turlough O'Conor seems to imply that the work was constructed at his expense. Petrie thinks that the Cross was erected to commemorate the re-building of the ancient cathedral of Tuam, which was also accomplished at the expense of King Turlough. A slab of sandstone was found within the present cathedral, near the Communion Table, which is supposed to have been designed to commemorate the re-building of the cathedral. It may, however, have been a portion of a second Cross, and, like the other, it contains two inscriptions--one asking a prayer for the Comarb of Jarlath, that is, "for Aed O'Hossin, by whom this Cross was made," and the other on the obverse of the slab asking a prayer for King Turlough O'Conor, and a prayer for Gillachrist O'Toole, by whom the work was wrought. There were no O'Tooles at this time in Connaught, although, later on, a branch of that tribe settled in Omey Island, on the coast of Connemara. Hence, we are inclined to think that this eminent artist came from Clonmacnoise, if he were not one of the itinerant craftsmen who at this period migrated from place to place, as they do still, for a job. One thing is clear--he was a native Celt, and a skilful workman in his craft, which was that of master sculptor or stone-cutter. The addition of his name shows that the memory of such an artist was deemed worthy of being preserved. And so, in truth, it was, if he executed both these crosses, and the beautiful chancel arch of the cathedral, which fortunately still survives the effect of time's effacing fingers. The Crucifixion is sculptured on one face of the shaft of the Tuam Cross. The figure of the Saviour is archaic, but very striking. The figure of a bishop is on the other, and what seems to be a funeral procession is on the reverse. There are two figures standing close together, above the inscription on the pedestal of this Cross. One holds in his left hand a pastoral staff--which, however, might designate that the holder was either a bishop or an abbot. Perhaps they are intended to represent Turlough O'Conor and the comarb of Jarlath, whose names were inscribed beneath.

There was a somewhat similar high Cross in the market place of Cong. The original pedestal is there still, with an inscription, recording the names of the artist and patron who caused the Cross to be sculptured. The ancient shaft has disappeared, but its place is supplied by a modern one inserted in the original plinth by a member of the Elwood family, in the year 1822. The inscription is in Irish, but the lettering is of a later type, rather resembling the black letter than that of the Cross of Tuam. It asks "a prayer for Nichol, and for Gilliberd O'Duffy, who was abbot of Cong." So far as we know there is no mention in our Annals either of Nichol, the artist, or of Gilliberd O'Duffy, the abbot, but it is highly probable that the latter was a member of the same illustrious family that produced so many distinguished ecclesiastics during the twelfth and the early part of the thirteenth century.

Of Cong itself we know nothing from the time of St. Fechin to the year A.D. 1114, when we are told that, like many other religious houses, it was burned in that year. It was then probably rebuilt, for mention is made of the death of Gillaciarain O'Roda, or O'Roddy, erenach of Cunga, in that year. It was he who erected with the help of Turlough O'Conor and the O'Duffys, that noble monastery of Cong, whose ruins, so picturesquely situated at the head of Lough Corrib, lend one of its many features of beauty to that enchanting scene.

There are still to be seen some very interesting architectural remains of the buildings erected during the reign of Turlough in the west of Connaught. Turlough's reign was red with the blood of many battles, and not altogether free from deeds of revolting cruelty, yet he seems to have been a prince of lofty aims and generous aspirations. He built a bridge over the Shannon at Athlone, apparently for the first time, and another over the same river at a place called Ath Crioch, near Shannon Harbour. He also built a bridge over the river Suck at Ballinasloe; it was then called the Bridge of Dunloe, and was opposite Dunloe Street, in the modern town of Ballinasloe.

But he also did much for ecclesiastical architecture. Cormac M'Carthy had just built a very beautiful church on the Rock of Cashel, which still bears his name; and it seems that Turlough even in this did not wish to be excelled by his rival and hereditary foe, the Prince of Munster. His first work was probably the re-building of the Cathedral of Tuam, where he had fixed his principal residence. Only a portion of the chancel and chancel arch of that beautiful church now remains; but it is quite enough to give us an idea of what the Irish Romanesque would ultimately become in capable hands. "This chancel," says Petrie,[407] "is sufficient to make us acquainted with its general style of architecture, and to show that it was not only a larger, but a more splendid structure than Cormac's Chapel at Cashel, and not unworthy of the powerful monarch to whom it chiefly owed its erection. The chancel is a square of twenty-six feet in external measurement, and the walls are four feet in thickness. Its east end is perforated by three circular headed windows, each five feet in height, and eighteen inches in width externally, but splaying on the inside to the width of five feet." These windows are richly ornamented with zig-zag and other mouldings, and are connected together by strong course-mouldings, of which the external one is quaintly enriched with pateral, or cup-shaped disks.

The most striking feature, however, of this chancel was the arch opening on the nave, "which is perhaps the most magnificent specimen of its kind remaining in Ireland." It is composed of no less than six semicircular, concentric, recessed arches of which the innermost is sixteen feet wide and fifteen feet high. The rectangular capitals are richly sculptured in a variety of interlaced traceries, and those surmounting the two jambs are adorned with curious grotesque heads with broad flat faces. The imposts too are richly sculptured in scrolls and other striking designs, and are carried along the face of the wall as tablets. The bases consist of a double plinth and torus moulding, but are otherwise unornamented as befits the solid and majestic character of the building. The arch mouldings display many varieties of ornament--the nebule, diamond, frette, and chevron--and show how the Celtic imagination loved to revel in a great variety of ornamental forms. All the ornamental parts of this peerless chancel arch are executed in red sandstone, which has withstood wonderfully well the wear and tear of time and moisture in that damp atmosphere.

Where did Turlough get the workmen whose teeming brains devised, and whose cunning hands executed this beautiful arch? It has been said that the workmen who built the grand Cistercian monasteries during the latter part of this twelfth century were imported from France and England. Well, be it so. But no one can deny that it was Celtic artists who built and adorned Cormac's Chapel and Tuam Cathedral; and there has been nothing finer executed in any Cistercian monastery in Ireland or England either. These great monasteries were larger and grander if you will, but certainly not more artistic nor more beautiful.

The ruins of the abbey of Cong are still to be seen and speak for themselves. The 'neck' of land on which it was built between the two lakes, Lough Mask and Lough Corrib, gave its name to the abbey. It was rebuilt by the Augustinians under the patronage of Turlough O'Conor, in all probability between the years A.D. 1120 and 1130. The Cistercians about the same period, A.D. 1128, were introduced into England, but had not yet come to Ireland; so that Cong is the connecting link between the indigenous monasteries of the past that grew up with the growth of the Irish Church, and the houses of the foreign orders introduced during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Imar of Armagh formally adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, about the year A.D. 1126, and hence these ancient Irish monasteries came to be called Augustinian houses; but as a matter of fact they were in all respects as purely Celtic and as racy of the soil as the Irish race and the Irish tongue. The Cistercians who came to Mellifont about the year A.D. 1142, were really the first 'foreign' order that came to Ireland, and were followed about a century later by the Dominicans and Franciscans. The abbey of Cong was not designed, or executed, or tenanted by any foreigners. It was a purely Celtic house. It was designed most probably by some member of that talented family--the O'Duffys--that afterwards ruled over it for many generations. It was built and adorned under their superintendence by native workmen; and Turlough O'Conor and his unhappy son Roderick, both of whom, especially the latter, loved Cong much, seem to have contributed the greater part of the expense necessary for its erection.

It was built on a scale of great magnificence. The abbey church was 140 feet in length. The east window consisted of three long narrow lights, not lancet-headed, but semicircular, for the Romanesque had no lancets, and where they appear in the Romanesque they are always later insertions.

It has been alleged that the pointed door-arches of Cong show a departure from the Irish Romanesque and indicate foreign origin and a later date than the first quarter of the twelfth century. Even supposing that these arches are coeval with the monastery, a glance at Sir W. Wilde's illustration will show that they are not lancet-headed like the pure Gothic, but rather indicate the first step of the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic, which was just beginning at this time to take place in Ireland. The most characteristic features of the existing group of ruins are to be found in the western façade, which appears to have opened on the cloister of the abbey. "It is 80 feet in length and contains a doorway, and two windows with circular arches; also two large and most elaborately ornamented lancet-headed doors, with undercut chevrons along the deep mouldings of the arches, that spring from clustered pillars, the floral capitals of which--all of different patterns--present us with one of the finest specimens of twelfth century stone-work in Ireland."[408]

With this beautiful abbey are associated many interesting historic memories. It was to this lonely but sweet retreat that Ireland's last High-king retired to die. He had drawn a sword that could not save his country and his race from the hated dominion of the stranger; he had seen his own children rise up in rebellion against him, and engage in the very face of their country's enemies in fratricidal strife; he had seen his best-beloved son, O'Conor of Moenmoy, whose bold heart and strong arm were his country's only hope, slain by "a party of his own people, and of his own tribe;" and now there was nothing left for him but to end an inglorious life by a pious and penitential death. He retired to Cong in A.D. 1183. After the death of his eldest and bravest son, he sought once more to regain his authority in Connaught. But he soon found that

"Authority forgets a dying king, Laid widow'd of the power in his eye That bow'd the will."

He returned once more to his monastic retreat, and there in the year A.D. 1198, "he died amongst the Canons of Cong, after exemplary penance, victorious over the world and the devil. His body was conveyed to Clonmacnoise, and interred at the north side of the altar of the great church."

In METAL-WORK the O'Duffys of Tuam and Cong have left us, at least, one memorial that will never perish. The Processional Cross of Cong, the Chalice of Ardagh, and the Tara Brooch, are regarded by all competent judges as the highest effort, each in its own way, of the Celtic art in metal-work. No one knows anything of the Tara Brooch except that it was found in the year 1850 on the sea shore near Drogheda. Neither does the Ardagh Chalice bear the name of the king or workman by whom it was made, nor ask a prayer for his soul's welfare. We can, however, with tolerable certainty, trace its history; and we shall find that it is a product of the same school of art which produced the remarkable Cross of Cong, to which we now invite the reader's attention.

It appears that this beautiful Cross of Cong was made originally for the Church of Tuam. It is very probable that some western prelate was present at the first General Council of Lateran, held in A.D. 1123, and that he brought home with him a relic of the true Cross, which, as we are informed in the _Annals of Innisfallen_, was enshrined in that year by Turlough O'Conor. "A portion of the true Cross came into Ireland and was enshrined at Roscommon by Turlough O'Conor." The following inscriptions are found on the Cross itself, and corroborate the statement in the _Annals of Innisfallen_:--

+ HAC CRUCE TEGITUR QUA PASUS CONDITOR ORBIS. OR DO MUREDUCH U DUBTHAIG DO SENIOR EREND. OR DO THERRDEL U CHONCHŌ DO RIG EREND LAS AN DERNAD IN GRESSA.

OR DO DOMNULL McFLANNACAN U DUBD EPSKUP CONNACHT DO CHOMARBA CHOMMAN ACUS CHIARAN ICAN ERRNAD IN GRESSA.

OR DO MAELISU McBRATDAN UECHAN DO RIGNI IN GRESSA.

We gather from these inscriptions that the Cross was made to enshrine a particle of the true Cross, on which the Creator of the world suffered. Muireadhach O'Duffy, to whom we have already referred, is here described as senior of Erin, and one of those who co-operated in this work. He has been described by the Four Masters as "chief senior of Ireland in wisdom and chastity, and the bestowal of jewels and food." He was afterwards promoted to the position of High-bishop of Connaught, but at this period we cannot say what office he held, if he were not abbot of the monastery and head of the School of Tuam. Of King Turlough, "for whom this shrine was made," we have already spoken. Domhnall MacFlanagan O'Duffy, "under whose superintendence this shrine was made" at Roscommon, is described as successor of Coman and Ciaran, and Bishop of Connaught. We know from the _Annals of Lough Cé_ that he was then Bishop of Elphin. Perhaps he was afterwards translated to Tuam, and then took the title of Bishop of Connaught. It is highly probable, too, that he brought this shrine along with him from Elphin to Tuam. Of this translation, however, there is no record. Lastly, a prayer is asked for Maelisu Mac Bratdan O'Echan (or Egan), the artist who made this shrine. He was comarb of St. Finnen of Clooncraff, County Roscommon.

It will hardly be contended that O'Echan was anything but a pure Roscommon Celt. The Mac Egans were from time immemorial Brehons in various parts of Connaught, and afterwards in Ormond, in the County Tipperary. It is not unlikely that the artist who made the "Cross of Cong" was a member of this most distinguished literary family.

The shaft of the cross is 2 ft. 6 in. high; the breadth across the arms is 1 ft. 6-3/4 in. It was made of oak, covered with eight copper plates, and one plate of brass, all adorned with a richly interwoven tracery. "On the central plate on the face, at the junction of the arms, is a boss surmounted by a convex crystal. Thirteen jewels remain of the eighteen which were disposed at regular intervals along the edges, and on the face of the shaft and arms, the spaces are visible for nine others, which were placed at intervals down the centre. Two beads remain of four settings which surrounded the central boss. The shaft terminates below in the grotesque head of an animal, beneath which it is attached to a spherically ornamented ball, surmounting the socket, in which was inserted the pole or shaft for carrying the cross."[409]

Such is the description given by Miss Stokes of the Cross of Cong. But no description can convey an adequate idea of the rare beauty of this peerless cross. It must be seen to be appreciated. It has been conjectured that it was taken from Tuam to Cong either by Archbishop Muireadhach O'Duffy, who died in Cong A.D. 1150, as we have already seen, or, perhaps, by King Roderick O'Conor, who also ended his chequered life in the same holy retreat, nearly forty years later. It was found by Father Prendergast, P.P., the last Abbot of Cong, in an old oaken chest in Cong, and was purchased from his successor by Professor M'Cullagh, who presented it to the Royal Irish Academy in 1839.

The Chalice of Ardagh, which has been pronounced to be "the most beautiful example of Celtic art ever yet found," also appears to have been a product of the School of Clonmacnoise[410] during the abbacy of the O'Duffys.

It is a two-handed chalice, probably used for the Communion of the laity at a time when the Eucharist was still administered under both species of bread and wine. It is seven inches high, and nine one-half inches in diameter across the mouth; the bowl is four inches deep, and was capable of containing about three pints. The cup is composed of gold, silver, brass, bronze, copper, and lead. The upper rim is of brass, much decayed and split from some local action on that particular alloy; but the bowl itself is of silver, the standard value of which is four shillings per ounce. There is a beautiful band running round the bowl, which contains the names of the Twelve Apostles engraved in uncial letters of the eleventh century. No description can convey an adequate idea of the exquisite beauty of this chalice. It comprised no less than 354 different pieces, put together with the nicest ingenuity, and exhibiting almost every variety of Celtic ornamentation. Yet the leading impression produced by the view of this beautiful cup is chaste and classic elegance of design, combined with admirable beauty of form, and delicacy of execution.

The history of this wonderful chalice, now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, is very curious, and points to Roscommon or Clonmacnoise as the place where it was wrought.

We are informed in the _Chronicon Scotorum_ that "Turlough O'Conor presented three precious things to Ciaran at Cluain, viz., a drinking horn inlaid with gold, a silver cup with gold, and a patena of copper with gold and silver." This cup, with its _mullocc_ or patena, was, of course, a chalice; and it was kept for use on the high altar of Clonmacnoise until A.D. 1125; "when the altar of the great stone church of Clonmacnoise was opened, and precious things were taken out of it, that is--the carrachan, or model of Solomon's Temple--it was probably a tabernacle--which was given by Maelsechlainn, son of Domhnall, and the cuidin of Donnchadh, son of Flann, and the three articles which Turlough O'Conor gave, that is--a silver goblet and a silver cup, with a golden cross over it, and a drinking horn with gold--and the drinking horn of Ua Riata, King of Aradh, and a silver chalice with a burnishing of gold, and an engraving and the silver cup of Ceallach, Comarb of Patrick."

But shortly after all these precious articles were 'revealed against the Foreigners of Luimnech,' after having been stolen by Gillacomghain; and he was hanged for stealing them, at Dun Cluana Ithair, having been given up for that purpose by Conor O'Brian, King of Munster. The thief thought to make his escape from Cork, Lismore, and Waterford; but Ciaran always stopped the vessel in which he embarked to cross the sea, so that she could get no wind to fill her sails; and the wretch made a dying declaration at the gallows that he had seen Ciaran with his crozier stopping every ship in which he attempted to escape.

Now it is a curious fact that the Chalice of Ardagh was dug up from the edge of a rath called Reerasta, close to the village of Ardagh, in the County Limerick, and other smaller golden cups, with five fibulae, were found on the same occasion. Were they secreted there by Gillacomghain, or some of his accomplices, the Danes of Limerick, for we are not told that the family of Clonmacnoise recovered _all_ the plunder? There is a local tradition that Reerasta was occupied by the Danes of Luimnech; and also that in later times Mass was often celebrated there. It may be then, if not secreted by the Danes, that the chalice was given by the family of Cluain to some of the clergy in the neighbourhood when the thieves were discovered, and that they used it for celebrating Mass in this place during the times of persecution, and secreted the chalice on some occasion when forced to fly for their lives.

It is highly probable, therefore, that this beautiful cup was stolen from Clonmacnoise, was secreted at Reerasta, and was accidentally found, as already described, by a young man, who was digging a portion of the old fort which had been levelled for the purpose of tillage.[411] The artist who made the Cross of Cong for King Turlough, was equally well qualified to make the Ardagh chalice. He was, as we have seen, a native of the County Roscommon, he wrought the Cross for King Turlough O'Conor, under the superintendence of Domhnall Mac Flanagan O'Duffy, Bishop of Connaught or Elphin, and Abbot of Roscommon and Clonmacnoise. It is clear that the chalice was made before Mac Egan made the Cross of Cong, yet in all probability it would be difficult to find in all Ireland a second artist who would be capable of executing metal-work with such marvellous fertility of design and delicacy of execution. We think that, on the whole, the evidence justifies us in concluding that it was owing to the munificence of Turlough O'Conor, and the intelligent patronage of the O'Duffys, that this great Western School of Art was created and fostered, which has left so many memorials of its artistic genius at Clonmacnoise Tuam, Boyle, and Cong.

Another most interesting piece of metal-work is the shrine of St. Manchan of Lemanaghan, which seems to have been also a product of the Clonmacnoise School of Art. St. Manchan himself died of the plague in A.D. 664, most likely at his own cell in Lemanaghan which takes its name from the saint--"the grey land of Manchan." Not inappropriately either, for it was built on a gravelly ridge surrounded by a waste of brown bog, so that the contrast between the colouring of the ridge and the bog is very striking. It is situated about three miles north-east of Ferbane, in the King's County, on the right of the road to Clara. The remains of Manchan's cell are still to be seen, and three blessed wells are also close at hand.

In O'Reilly's _Irish Writers_, Manchan is set down as the author of a Latin Treatise, _De Mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae_, which has been printed amongst the works of St. Augustine. But Dr. Reeves has shown[412] that this treatise on the _Wonders of Holy Scripture_ must rather be assigned to an Irish monk of the seventh century named Augustine, of whom hardly anything else is known.

St. Manchan is much better known to moderns on account of the famous shrine or reliquary, which appears to contain some fragments of the bones of the saint, and is, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful productions of Celtic art, as it has always been considered--opus pulcherrimum quod fecit opifex in Hibernia.[413] The Four Masters bear emphatic testimony to the same effect. A.D. 1166.--"The shrine of Manchan of Maothail (Mohill) was covered by Rory O'Conor, and an embroidering of gold was carried over it by him, in as good a style as a relic was ever covered in Ireland." St. Manchan had another oratory at Mohill, County Leitrim.

This shrine is at present preserved in the Catholic Church of Boher, near the Prospect Railway Station, on the Athlone and Portarlington line; and a _fac-simile_ may be seen in the Royal Irish Academy. We need not describe it at length here. It is in the usual form of such Celtic shrines, somewhat like the roof of a house--24 inches long, 15 broad, and 19 inches high. On each side there is a large and beautiful cross composed of five bosses, at the extremities elaborately ornamented, and united by the arms of the cross which were covered with plates of enamel, fixed in a yellow ground with red border lines. Above and below the crosses there must have been originally as many as fifty human figures, but at present only ten remain. The metal work throughout was richly gilt, and ornamented with the usual interlaced figures, characteristic of our Celtic ornamentation.

When the shrine was opened it was found to contain a few small fragments of bones, and some pieces of the original box of yew in which they were enclosed, with a few of the silver plates which adorned the original reliquary. As Lemanaghan was originally given to Clonmacnoise as an "Altar-sod," about the year A.D. 645, there can hardly be any doubt that St. Manchan was sent from Clonmacnoise to occupy it, and that it always continued to be a daughter of Clonmacnoise. Hence we are justified in concluding that Rory O'Conor had this beautiful work of art executed by some of the _cerds_ of that famous monastery.